


Under My Skin

by d_first_into_the_impala (Into_The_Unknown)



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Banter, Blood, Blood Kink, Blood Play, Body Horror, Book 5: Mortal Coil, Canon Rewrite, China's Library, Consuming/Eating Blood, Corrival Deuce (Mentioned, Davina Marr (Mentioned), Denial of Feelings, Dexter Vex (Mentioned), Dom/sub Undertones, Eliza Scorn (Mentioned) - Freeform, Erskine Ravel (Mentioned), F/M, Facade Tattoos, Feelings Realization, Fletcher Renn (Mentioned) - Freeform, Ghastly Bespoke (Mentioned), Implied Sexual Content, Light Dom/sub, Mild Sexual Content, Missing Scene, Mortal Coil Era, Quote: "When are we gonna do something about this unspoken thing between us?" "What unspoken thing?", Rewrite, Romantic Fluff, Secret Relationship, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Teasing, Tesseract (mentioned), Unresolved Romantic Tension, Valkyrie Cain & Skulduggery Pleasant Friendship, Valkyrie Cain - Freeform, chinduggery, unspoken feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:48:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22359778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Into_The_Unknown/pseuds/d_first_into_the_impala
Summary: Skulduggery Pleasant is a man who enjoys being untouchable by so many people. He is a man composed of wit, charm, and power. Skulduggery Pleasant was, to be frank, somewhat unshakeable. There was very little in this world that could throw off the composure of a 438 year old living skeleton.Apart from maybe, China Sorrows.(Set in Mortal Coil era Skulduggery Pleasant, a overly hopeful missing scene of China giving Skulduggery his facade tattoos, and then a re write of the chapter where she fixes them.)
Relationships: Skulduggery Pleasant/China Sorrows
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

Skulduggery had spent much of his life meticulously catering a very specific personality. Shockingly, it seemed it was not enough to be a living skeleton-which did leave him feeling slightly gypped. He had to be more than that. A man composed of sharply tailored suits, quick wits, charm, and the ability to make almost anyone fear him if he so wished.

Skulduggery Pleasant was, in his own opinion, a composed person. Well, maybe person was the wrong word. But really-what makes a person? Flesh and blood seemed like very weak criteria to base an entire existence on. Was it a soul? Was it the ability to think and argue? Was it the ability to feel?

Skulduggery Pleasant was also a man who got lost in his own head often.

The important thing though, was that Skulduggery Pleasant was unshakeable. There was very little that could throw off a 438 year old living skeleton.

Apart from maybe, China Sorrows.

China was, of course, a sight to behold today. Her hair, dark and silken, fell elegantly over her shoulders as she continued to talk to a patron of the library. Skulduggery did not interrupt her; not because was a patient man.

No, Skulduggery did not interrupt her because frankly, he was somewhat struck by her no matter how many times he saw her.

He was better than most around her. He could carry a conversation with her. Talk with her. He could think clearly around her. He could even stand his own ground and argue with her, fight her, if need be. But like almost everyone in the world, he felt slightly tingly around her. If there were any lungs in his body, he’d possibly be breathless when they talked. Any skin on his cheeks? Perhaps they’d flush.

Mentally, he reminded himself of some of the unforeseen perks of being a skeleton. Almost no one knows how you’re really reacting to things.

China turned slightly and caught his eye, politely nodding his way. She attempted to disengage herself from a patron who was currently weeping at her feet. Skulduggery guessed he must be a newbie, as the man prostrated himself at her feet, moaning weakly.

“I-I shall do whatever you ask my love! Whatever your deepest desire, I can make it happen. I am a talented man, a-” the man licked the sweat from his lips “A wealthy man. Oh, my love, I will bestow you with immeasurable gifts and pleasure…if you wish.”

China smiled tenderly, her lipstick today a rich and deep burgundy, almost the same shade as dried blood. She tucked a, obviously intentional, loose strand of her dark hair behind her ear, and Skulduggery tilted his head slightly to inspect her earrings. Glinting green and gold-like beetles.

“Now, now my dearest Amross, while I am of course, deeply flattered, my greatest wish right now is for you to lift yourself off the floor. Come now, I have no time for grovelling in my place of work. Rise.”

Amross whimpered, and shakily rose to his feet. Skulduggery looked on amused at the sweat that now drenched the poor man’s chest-making him look like he’d just either finished a marathon, or a particularly exerting round of sex. Amross’s cheeks were flushed a deep crimson. His eyes seemed to want to rest on China, but every time he stared at her for longer than a few seconds, he looked desperately elsewhere. 

Skulduggery enjoyed his obvious discomfort immensely.

“Good boy.” China cooed, flashing a dazzling smile which made Skulduggery take a sudden and completely unnecessary intake of breath. “Now Amross, would you like to know what my greatest desire is, right now? Right here, in public?”

Amross looked like he was going to faint but nodded.

China looked at him tenderly. “Leave. I’m done with your resources now. Leave my library and only return when you have something more useful to offer me.” She turned on her heel, now fully facing Skulduggery.

“But-.” Amross took a step to follow her.

“Amross…” she purred, as she flicked her head over her shoulder to face him, making the man’s knees buckle. He stumbled. “Don’t make me unhappy. I have work to attend to.”

“Y…yes Miss Sorrows. Of course, Miss Sorrows. I adore you Miss Sorrows.”

He bowed pathetically and scampered off, much like a mouse being released from a trap.

Skulduggery tilted his head to the side slightly as she approached.

“I really think you can aspire for greater desires.”

She rolled her eyes, as the fake smile dropped from her face. “Don’t start. That type of behaviour is endearing for all of two seconds before I have to fight the urge to strangle them.”

“You’re telling me your dear Amross does not capture your heart? And I was beginning to think I was a decent detective.”

China smiled, and placed a hand on shoulder. “You must think harder, my dear.”

Skulduggery turned on his heel as China continued to walk past him. The sharp points of her delicate heels made a rather delightful noise on the polished wooden floors. He glanced slightly at the raised red and white tattoos that lined the back of her calves and ankles, noted how they complimented the iridescent glimmer of her green-gold heels.

“I imagine you have something you want that is quite unique if you didn’t bring Valkyrie with you.” China paused by a bookcase, removing a large book with a cover that looked like human skin and flicked through it nonchalantly. 

Skulduggery nodded. “I saw the work you did on Ghastly’s façade tattoos. It was rather remarkable. I decided that it’s probably time for me to get a façade as well.”

China raised an eyebrow without looking at him, still reading her book.

He hesitated.

“Valkyrie convinced me it was a good idea. Don’t tell her that though, it would swing her ego far too out of balance.”

China smiled softly and something tight pulled in Skulduggery’s chest. “And your ego isn’t?”

He removed his hat, dusting off a non-existent piece of fluff “Of course it is. All the more reason to not give her one. What type of team has two egoists? It throws the whole balance off. I am the genius and mentor, and she is the one with sentiments and emotions. It’s a match made in heaven.”

China laughed lightly and Skulduggery felt something warm flutter in his belly.

“A façade for the great skeleton detective…I’d be interested to see if there’s any different effects due to your…unique genetic makeup.” China put the book away, while she glanced up and down Skulduggery, before settling on his face.

“Your face. You did have one. Were you wanting to reclaim it?”

China closed some of the distance between them, taking a step forward to be just slightly too close for comfort. She reached out her hand, and tipped his chin upwards, inspecting his skull and face curiously. Skulduggery pushed down whatever warm feeling that spiralled up into his chest.

“I believe it’s best to leave the past in the past. That man is dead. I’d rather not bring up anymore mementos of myself from the past.”

China raised an eyebrow.

“Well, other than my skeleton.”

China hummed in agreement, and tilted his head down slightly, before running a beautifully manicured nail across his cheekbone. Skulduggery felt like she was setting him alight with that nail on cheekbone-a flint to steel.

Being this close to China was never Skulduggery’s preference. It became hard to think. She smelt intoxicating; like lilacs and sandalwood, and that became the only thought in his head. Absently, he wondered if she used a different perfume in her hair compared to her body, as he smelt the warmth of clove somewhere under the rest of the scents.

“Do you have a preferred look? Or am I left free reigns here?” She let go of his face and stepped back, and Skulduggery ignored the pang of longing as the warmth of her body seeped away.

“I think…” Skulduggery paused, regaining himself. “…It should not surprise you in the slightest that I trust your taste in aesthetic and physical looks more than I trust myself. It’s been a long couple centuries without a face. I’ve grown accustomed to bones.”

She nodded, brows furrowing only slightly before relaxing again. “I personally think you’d make quite a dashing red head.”

Skulduggery tilted his head thoughtfully. “We may need some ground rules on my appearance after all.”

* * *

They moved across the building into China’s apartment. Warm, lush, open, airy-nothing like its owner. But the house, like almost everything in China’s world, was perfect. She gently pushed the sleeves up on her dress. The sleeves were tight on her arm until they billowed gently at the wrist-black silk into chiffon. Skulduggery wondered if the rest of her clothing today matched the black or the green gold for a flash before he forcefully pushed the idea from his head.

“Please sit down.” She motioned to a lush looking armchair near a window. Skulduggery moved, removing his coat and hat, placing them on a nearby rack and table, before loosening his pin striped tie slightly and sitting down. Somewhere in the back of his head, he made a mental note to find a similar chair for his home for Valkyrie. She would love something like this to rest in when she stayed over.

China interrupted his thoughts by coming forward with a scalpel.

“That seems like a very impractical weapon to kill me with.”

China sighed.

“Unbutton your shirt Skulduggery.” She watched him, and Skulduggery felt somewhat hot, as his gloved hands gently undid his tie fully before he unbuttoned the first two buttons on his pressed white shirt.

“How far?”

“All the way. My, I hope you’re not getting shy? It’s unbecoming on you.” She smirked, her pale blue eyes glinting slightly in the dying rays of sunlight.

“You tease too often China.” He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt with confidence, compensating that he felt somewhat vulnerable. When his shirt hung loosely at his shoulders, he pulled off his tie and gently placed it over the armrest of the chair.

“You know, at times like this, I’m almost curious what you’d look like with a body again. You were such a handsome man when you were alive. I imagine you’d still be quite a sight these days.” China said all this absently, not looking at him, as she passed her finger tips over the scalpel, causing it to glow bright orange briefly before returning to its normal shade. Skulduggery lifted his chin at the praise, almost seeming to puff out his chest slightly.

“If I didn’t know better China, I’d say you were flirting with me.”

She laughed, gentle and genuine-or at least, as genuine as you can get with China. “Thank god you know better.”

Before Skulduggery could retort however, she stepped closer. Suddenly, she moved onto his lap, straddling him. He resisted the urge to place his hands at the curve of her hips, and pinned them down mentally on either side of the arm chair. His head tilted back slightly, curious.

“Can I ask, in that case, what you are doing on my lap?”

“Better angle dear. Can’t have myself making a mistake on any of these markings.”

“Ah, so you sat on Ghastly’s lap?”

She scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Of course not.” Skulduggery echoed, a smile in his voice.

The barest glimmer of a smile flitted on China’s face before it returned neutral. Skulduggery was again thankful in this moment for his skeleton body, as he felt like he’d be sweating.

“Head back.” She instructed, pressing the scalpel against his collarbone but not pushing in yet.

He did as he was told. “I still don’t see why I needed to unbutton my entire shirt for a façade.” He grumbled.

“You didn’t. I just enjoy men doing as I tell them.”

Skulduggery huffed.

“Be quiet. You’re much more entertaining when you’re not complaining. Now…” her hand, twisted slightly so that the sharpest point of the scalpel was just barely pressing into Skulduggery’s bone, making it twinge in pain. “This is going to hurt somewhat.”

* * *

An hour or so later, China suddenly disentangled herself from Skulduggery’s lap. “There. That should do it.” She moved her sleeves back into place, and smoothed her dress over her curves. Skulduggery started to re button his shirt.

“Wait, we need to see that it worked.”

Skulduggery cocked his head to the side. “Surely I can do that with clothing on?”

China huffed, flicked her hair over her shoulders. She was enchanting when she was irritated and Skulduggery had a sudden desire to see her roll her eyes at him again.

“I want to see how far the façade reaches on you. Ghastly’s one is meant to just change his face and neck, but with your symbols, I wanted to give you an illusion of being slightly more…” she paused. “…solid. I want to see how far your façade reaches, so no, you can’t put your shirt back on.”

If Skulduggery had eyebrows, he’d raise one.

“I’m inclined to trust you, which is definitely a mistake on my part.”

China nodded. “Obviously.”

Skulduggery sighed. “Fine. Shirt open. Can I put on my hat at least?”

China’s forehead crinkled slightly as she frowned. “You want to wear a hat with an incomplete outfit? I know we are quite different people Skulduggery, but I was hoping we had a connection over our appreciation of aesthetic.”

“As much as I enjoy when you insult me,” Skulduggery said, as he rose from the chair and picked up his hat, placing it at a jaunty angle on his head. “Could we test your work before I have to start insulting you back?”

China smiled innocently. “Insult me? Oh Skulduggery, how can you critique perfection?”

Skulduggery huffed something that sounded similar to “You do it all the time.”, but otherwise held his tongue-a remarkable feat in itself.

China waved her hand to the side of the room, and a full-length mirror materialised next to them. Skulduggery appreciated the ability to look at China from two different angles, lifting his head minutely in approval.

“Are you ready to have a face Skulduggery?” She said, _almost_ sweetly.

“As I’ll ever be. Go ahead.”

China stepped forward and pressed her fingertips into his collarbones, and it all happened so suddenly. Skulduggery watched his reflection as skin flowed over his face. His hair flourished-dark and thick, styled into a Hollywood comb over. Angular eyebrows. A slightly large nose. Eyes stared back at him for the first time in centuries and he felt like he had been struck over the head. His eyes were a slate grey that caught him off guard. He turned his head slightly, tried to find his skull underneath all that skin. The only hints of his old face however, were his high and sharp cheekbones and squared off jaw.

He looked handsome, if he did say so himself.

After the face settled, he watched as the skin, slightly waxy but nothing overtly noticeable, spread over his neck and chest. Collarbones were covered, and Skulduggery had a mild sense of uncanny valley as his rib cage was encased with skin yet again. The tattoos burned in his new skin slightly, bruises starting to form on his collarbones now that skin could show the damage. Just as suddenly as it started, it was finished. The skin didn’t reach all of his body as China had hoped, but he had a face, torso, shoulders and his biceps, before the skin wavered into something more translucent over the arms and back to bone by the time it reached his hands.

“My, I do impress myself.” China said, and he turned to see her inspecting his body with pride. “I think we could tweak this more, fix some of the waxiness in the skin, but you look like a living breathing person.”

She looked up into his eyes and Skulduggery suddenly felt more vulnerable than he had around her in a while. Being shirtless as a skeleton was one thing. Now he felt…naked. An unnatural thing for sure. 

Skulduggery mentally groaned as he watched his reflection’s chest and cheeks flush pink under her gaze. China’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Are…are you blushing?”

“No.” He said gruffly, buttoning up his shirt.

China grinned and Skulduggery could tell his cheeks flushed even darker. “I think you’re lying.”

“Well, that’s not uncommon is it?” Skulduggery mumbled, striding away from China to grab his tie from the chair, but she intersected him.

“All this time…” She said, bemused. “…I thought I just didn’t affect you. But it turns out, you just didn’t have a body to show when you were affected.”

Skulduggery said nothing, picked up his tie from behind her, and started to tie it.

“Are you sulking? Come on Skulduggery.” She laughed, gently picking up the tie from his hands before he could protest “Let me.”

His hands stayed up by his sides, hovering either side of her waist. He mentally cursed at being close enough to smell her hair again.

She moved achingly slowly tying it, pressing her body against him in a way that made him fuzzy in his head. Her face was so close to his that he could see the shadow of her eyelashes on her cheeks. The setting sun gave her skin a golden quality, and Skulduggery had an overwhelming urge to see it all.

“There.” She said, voice in barely a whisper. He looked down at his tie, her hands still on it. A Prince Albert knot. Classy.

“I’m sure I would have managed.” He surprised himself with how softly he spoke back to her.

His face felt hot and China smirked.

“You know, your cool approach would be going better if your face wasn’t quite so red. Tell me, do you blush like this all the time around me, or did I just do something special with my hair today?”

He rolled his eyes at her; a wonderful new freedom to have.

“You have spent the better part of your life honing the power of making people fall in love with you through magic and glamour. I think just having a blush is, by all accounts, one of the better reactions.”

She grinned. “You look lovely with a blush Skulduggery.”

He blushed harder and sighed.

“Can I take off the skin now? I have to admit, the mocking is growing old quickly.”

China hummed slightly. “Just one more thing.”

She looked up at him, big blue eyes completely unreadable. “I wonder…do you _feel_ alive too?”

She pulled the tie down and pressed her mouth softly against his. Everything in Skulduggery’s head short circuited. He felt winded, light headed. It was a few seconds before he even realised, he had moved his hovering hands to her hips; that he was kissing her back.

He was hungry. Starved. He needed to taste her mouth. Her neck. Anything. Everything.

He growled, somewhere deep in his chest, as he pressed himself against her. His kissing was a little clumsy, but eager, passionate-borderline desperate. China sighed into his mouth and he surged forward, pushing her up against the glass of her window, closing her in with one hand moving from the warmth of her hip to cup her face. The last rays of sunlight dipped under the horizon as he tilted her head back for better vantage and kissed her ferociously, a gloved thumb tucking that impossibly perfect loose strand of hair behind her ear and out of her face.

Her tongue tenderly slipped into his mouth and explored against his. He sighed, as she explored, moaned lightly as she licked against his tongue. He licked back, tasting earl grey tea from her mouth, and swallowed her sigh as he did so.

How long had it been since he’d kissed someone like this? He felt an overwhelming and sudden desire to make up for hundreds of years of not doing this. His gloved hand tightened on her hip, the bones pressing into the softness of her skin tight enough that they would leave bruises. He could smell her all around him, and it drove him crazy.

Absently, he noted that she had pulled the hat off his head to hold the back of his neck better and run a hand through his hair.

For some reason, the image of his hat on the floor brought him back into his own body. He suddenly stiffened against her, stilled his touch. Pulled away from her mouth.

He took her in for a moment, still holding her against the window. Her lipstick had not even budged. Her lower lip looked slightly swollen, and her eyes glinted in the light of the apartment. She looked completely neutral. If it wasn’t for the slight wildness and wideness of her eyes, the dilated pupils, he wouldn’t have guessed that she was shocked too.

He removed his hands from her hip and jaw and took a step back. One more for good measure. Still watching her, he plucked his hat up from the floor, dusting it off slightly, and delicately placed it on his head. He turned to the mirror, took one more look at his face; the blush high on his cheeks, his lips slightly reddened with lipstick, before tapping his collarbones and letting it all melt away.

A skull stared back at him.

“Well.” He said, turning back to China.

China blinked.

“Well.” She echoed.

“I should go. The façade seems to work well. How long should I expect healing to be?”

A look flashed across China’s face but it just as quickly disappeared. “It’s about a day for the marks to fully settle in the skin, but I suspect it’ll be a little quicker for you as we went directly into bone. I’d give it about six hours to fully settle and any residual pain to subside.”

Skulduggery nodded as he straightened his tie. “Thank you, China.” He turned on his heel, and collected his coat from the rack near the door.

“Skulduggery.”

He paused, not turning to face her. Embarrassment welled up in him in a way he was not used to.

“I just wanted to…see the reaction. I probably shouldn’t have. For that, I apologise.”

“No.” he said gently. “You shouldn’t have.” There wasn’t anger in his voice like he assumed she expected. Just something tender and sad that he wasn’t used to.

He turned to face her, trying to gauge any type of emotional reaction from her. But China was not that type of woman. She was unreadable at this moment.

As if sensing the tension in the air, China smirked, before cutting through it with “You’re a good kisser you know, if a bit handsy.”

Skulduggery would have smiled if he still had a face.

“What can I say-it’s been awhile.”

He hesitated, as his gloved hand lingered on the doorknob.

“If you tell Valkyrie anything about this…”

“You’ll hunt me down and kill me?” China offered, amused.

Skulduggery tilted his head. “Seems slightly dramatic, even for me. No, I was going to say consider the consequences of that action. Valkyrie will not drop it for the next ten years, minimum. She’s worse than Dexter.”

China laughed. An actual laugh. It made something warm flutter in Skulduggery’s chest, relieved some of the anxiety in him. “Believe me Skulduggery, I don’t plan on giving her any more ammo to her illusion that I have feelings. Update me with how the tattoos do.”

He nodded, tilted his hat lower over his face, and walked out. His mind swirled with thoughts of the repercussions of this. A sudden image of telling Ghastly flowed into his mind and he cringed slightly at the idea of the reaction.

For now, as Skulduggery walked outside into a cool and dark Irish night, he let the memories of her mouth on his linger. His thoughts swirled as he mused while climbing into the Bentley, and driving off into the night.

What Skulduggery didn’t know of course, was the moment he left the room, China pressed her fingers to her mouth, feeling more alive from a dead man than she’d felt in many, many years.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A re-write of Chapter 12 'Keeping A Straight Face' from Mortal Coil with a lot more added romantic and sexual tension between China and Skulduggery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder that for the first few pages/thousand words in this chapter, the dialogue is directly lifted from Derek Landy's original chapter and is not my own work. While the chapter is rewritten in Skulduggery's perspective and with the context of my previously fan made chapter, I want to acknowledge that this writing is not my own and is a re write of a scene. 
> 
> While the first chapter of this story was Teens and Up Rated, this chapter dips more heavily into Mature.

“Wow,” Valkyrie said. “I never noticed before, but you’re a grouch.”

Skulduggery huffed. “No, I’m not.”

“You’re a Grinch.” She continued; her grin evident in her voice.

“I am neither a Grinch nor a grouch. I like Christmas as much as the next person, so long as the next person is as unsentimental as I am.”

He didn’t turn to face her, but could tell her pause was her rolling her eyes. Teenagers.

“Sentimental’s nice.” Valkyrie whined.

Skulduggery tilted his head. “You hate sentimental.”

“But not at Christmas. At Christmas, sentimental is a perfectly fine thing to be. It is allowed. In moderation, naturally. I don’t want anyone, you know, being sentimental around me, but in principle I have no problem with… uh…”

She trailed off, and he could feel her eyes boring into him.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Um, the façade…I think something’s going a bit wonky.” Valkyrie said.

Skulduggery tilted his head back, and felt the left side of his face droop down his skull. The whole sensation was similar to having a balloon filled with jelly slip down his face.

His ear flapped against his lapel. He grumbled as he took hold of his face with one hand and hoisted it back up again.

Great. Like he needed another reason to see China. He hadn’t seen her since the tattoos were given, but as the investigation continued with the Tesseract in Ireland and Davina Marr unconscious in custody, he knew he was going to have to see her sooner rather than later.

He had planned to see her of course. He simply planned to see her when he’d had more time to process what happened between them.

Evidently fate had other plans, as it so often did.

It wasn’t that he was avoiding her. Well, he was. But it wasn’t because she kissed him. Well, it might be.

His feelings towards China had become somewhat convoluted since they last saw each other.

He gathered a thick fold of loose skin around his forehead, trying his best to manoeuvre his eye back in place. “This is a tad undignified.” he murmured. “Do please tell me if we’re about to crash into something.”

He could feel Valkyrie’s eyes on him as he squelched the lump of his eyeball under his skin, pushing it back up into his socket.

“Maybe you should let me drive.”

“I saw how you drove a few hours ago. I’m not letting you behind the wheel of this car ever again.” He attempted to sound stern, but realised all too late that wouldn’t work when his lips were sliding down his jaw, muffling his voice.

He gave one more slightly demeaning tug at the folds near his forehead, lifting his drooping nose and mouth back into place.

“Do I look better now?”

“Oh, much.” Valkyrie lied.

He did his best to keep his nose in place.

“So, will I pick you up from Gordon’s once your lapse into sentimentality is over? We have that meeting to go to, in case you’ve forgotten.”

He tried to pay attention to her response, but his mind was elsewhere.

He’d have to see China again.

Perhaps if he brought Valkyrie, it would go slightly more predictably.

He ignored the nagging voice that whispered in his mind.

_But do you really want it to?_

* * *

As they descended the stairs, Skulduggery felt something twist in his chest. Valkyrie was right behind him, so he tried to focus on her footfalls instead of the incessant thoughts in his head.

He was worried in all honesty. He was worried Valkyrie would pick up something had changed between them. She wasn’t stupid. If she paid attention, would she pick up on their shifted tension, the way the atmosphere between them had changed?

His thoughts flurried and his frustration deepened. _Had_ the atmosphere between them changed?

He tutted himself under his breath.

He was the first one to enter into the shadowy basement. A man could be heard sobbing in the dark. Valkyrie came to his side and the stiffened, standing in the shadows for a moment before moving forward to view the scene better.

China Sorrows was cast in half-shadow, the lighting giving her an even more striking appearance than normal. He noted how the shadows cut under her cheekbones, making them look sharp-as if they’d hurt to touch. Her hair, the same shade as the darkness around them, was tied off her face in a simple ponytail.

The light hit her back and made her white slip dress shine and her skin glow.

She looked powerful. Breathtaking. Untouchable.

She held a book by her side. The man wept at her feet, but not from love. His fear was palatable.

Valkyrie stayed by his side, and they watched on in silence and darkness.

“I’m sorry!” the man sobbed. “Oh God, Miss Sorrows, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do it!”

“You didn’t mean to hide this book under your jacket and leave without telling me?” China mused, danger undertoning her every word. “This is a very valuable edition, and would be sorely missed from my collection.”

“Please. _Please_ , I have a family. They’re starving.”

She laughed without humour. “And so, you planned to feed them the book?”

“No…No, but…”

“You planned to sell it then. To whom, I wonder?”

The main sagged, covering his face with his hands. “I don’t… I can’t…” he sobbed, muffled by his hands.

“If you tell me who the interested party is, I will let you go.” At a wave of her hand, a section of wall opened up at the top of a concrete ramp and daylight flooded the gloom.

“You will never be allowed back here, and you will cross the street and run away to avoid me, but I will take no further action. Against you. The actions I will take against the interested party, however, will be quite severe, even by my standards. I never ask twice–my patience is quite short. You will tell me now.”

The man wiped his face and sighed. “Eliza Scorn.”

Skulduggery knew that name. His fist clenched for just a second before it relaxed again. 

If there was any reaction to the name from China, which Skulduggery doubted she’d allow to happen, the darkness hid it. “I see,” she said, calmly and slowly, like she was trying the words out for the first time. “You may leave.”

Skulduggery tilted his head to the side, curious.

“I…can?”

China sighed, and the man scrambled up, wiped his eyes, and hurried towards the ramp. “Wait,” China said. She looked at him for a long moment. “If you return to Eliza Scorn without this book, she will most likely kill you and your pathetic starving family.” She sighed again, and held it out for him. “Take it.”

“Really?”

China tossed the book onto the floor by his feet, and turned away from him “I have three more around here somewhere. Take it before I change my mind.”

He scurried forward onto all fours, a rat of a man, and clutched the book. “Thank you,” he wept. “Thank you for your kindness and your, and your beauty. I… I love you, Miss Sorrows. I’ve never loved anyone as much as—”

“You have a pathetic starving family to get back to, you grubby little man. Get back to them.” He nodded meekly, wiping his face before immediately starting to cry again. He ran up the ramp frantically, tripping once before scrambling back up. The wall closed up behind him, and China walked towards them, allowing the light to cast itself over her perfect features.

“An act of kindness,” she said, “purely for your benefit, Valkyrie. I know how much you dislike me being mean to people.”

Valkyrie stepped towards her and smiled. “Kindness suits you.”

China’s face scrunched up slightly, like she had a bad taste in her mouth. “Really? I think I’m quite allergic to it.”

Skulduggery laughed, causing Valkyrie to look at him quizzically and China to smile. His head felt fluttery and he quickly reminded himself to focus.

“Now what can I do for you both? Perhaps you are here seeking my opinion on matters discussed at this top-secret meeting to which I was not invited?”

“You may not have been there,” Skulduggery said gently, “but I’m sure a woman of your resources has heard detailed accounts of everything that was spoken about.”

China smirked. “Nonsense. That meeting was highly confidential. Congratulations, by the way.”

Skulduggery raised a gloved hand over his eye sockets and grunted. “There’s nothing to congratulate.”

He could hear Valkyrie trying to hold in a snicker and not for the first time, fought the urge to fist fight a teenager.

“Don’t be so modest, I haven’t laughed so hard in years. Erskine, possibly, has the makings of a good Elder, and Corrival Deuce is an inspired choice for Grand Mage. But you? Skulduggery my dear…that is inspired lunacy.” She smiled, her pale eyes lighting up even in the glum light. She placed a delicate hand on his shoulder and squeezed, sending sparks up his spine.

Skulduggery cleared his throat and pulled away before Valkyrie could question anything.

“Yes, well, we’ll see how it all pans out, but I’m afraid we’re here on matters much more cosmetic.” Skulduggery stepped out of the gloom and tapped his tattoos, revealing a drooping monstrosity.

“Oh dear.”

“It gets better when I do this.” He began slapping himself and shaking his head violently, causing the face to tighten slightly. Valkyrie barked out a laugh but stopped when China raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well,” China said, “at least you’re keeping your dignity. Come, follow me.”

With a wave of her hand, the lights in the basement went out. They followed her up the stairs, where Skulduggery deactivated his façade.

He watched the way her legs moved as she climbed, the way the silk slip clung to every curve. Skulduggery struggled to think of any important questions for the case while they climbed.

“What have you heard about Tesseract?” Valkyrie asked, and Skulduggery thanked whatever luck it was that his partner had the mental capabilities for questions when he did not.

“The Russian killer?” China said, surprise evident in her voice. She turned to look down at them, her pale eyes narrowed in a way that made Skulduggery want to surrender to her. “He’s in the country?”

There was an awkward beat between them as Valkyrie looked down at her shoes.

“You didn’t know?” Skulduggery asked, actually sounding shocked.

Annoyance flickered across China’s perfect face, and evaporated just as quickly. She turned, and resumed climbing. “Evidently not.”

Skulduggery cocked his head slightly. “Ah.”

China sighed above them. “Here is what I know about Tesseract. Born and raised in Russia, somewhere between three and four hundred years ago. He is an Adept, nobody knows who trained him, and nobody knows how many people he’s killed. He wears a mask-nobody knows why. He lives in a truck. He’s self-sufficient. His method of communication is a mystery to me-how those who require his services get in touch with him, I do not know.”

China rubbed her temple as she spoke. “What all this means is that he could be living across the street from me and I’d never know it. It means that I have not heard one single rumour about him in twenty years, and the fact that he is here and I didn’t know about it causes me no small amount of alarm and drives me to unimaginable fury. I am, however,” She turned and smiled, tight lipped, “Hiding it well. You are sure he is here?”

Skulduggery nodded. “We saw him.”

They reached the third floor and China led them into her apartment. Skulduggery glanced at the window and felt something hot creep up his chest as memories of her mouth flooded back. China turned to him and while it happened so fast he second guessed himself, he swore that she cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

With an eerie sense of déjà vu, he removed his hat and coat and stowed them as he crossed the threshold, Valkyrie right behind him, shutting the door loudly enough to bring his thoughts back to the present.

“He went after Davina Marr.” Valkyrie said.

China’s eyebrow raised. “Is she dead?”

“No.” Valkyrie said, somewhat grumpily.

China turned to Skulduggery, and he pushed down whatever hot, tight feeling nestled in his throat. “So, you have her then.” It wasn’t a question; it was an observation. Skulduggery nodded as he loosened his tie slightly, attempting to alleviate the heat seemingly radiating off him.

“Yes, she’s safe and secure. This can’t be repeated of course.”

China tutted. “Who do you think I am, some cheap gossip? Sit.”

Skulduggery yet again sank into the chair by the window, trying and failing to not fidget. He tapped his fingers on the armrest, drumming out his anxieties.

China glanced at him with a curious expression, and then at Valkyrie. Valkyrie seemed oblivious to Skulduggery’s tell, as she inspected an intricate painting on China’s wall, her fingers hovering over it.

“Valkyrie.” China said.

Valkyrie jumped away from the painting. “I didn’t touch it.”

China raised an eyebrow and Valkyrie hesitated.

“I might have touched it.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t.” China said curtly and Valkyrie nodded, glancing at Skulduggery briefly to shoot him a nervous grin. He held a gloved finger to his teeth shushing her and she looked away to hide a laugh. China turned back to him as he quickly placed his hand back on the armrest. She rolled her eyes in a way that was positively endearing.

“Valkyrie, I do apologise, but would you be a dear and leave the room?”

Valkyrie frowned. “Why do I have to leave?”

“For Skulduggery’s privacy mainly. I couldn’t care less.”

Skulduggery quizzically tilted his head at China and she smiled back innocently. He could see the gears whirring in her head behind her eyes.

Valkyrie’s frown deepened. “When have I ever given Skulduggery privacy?”

Skulduggery turned to her. “Valkyrie, the process of fixing the symbols is going to be undignified, disgusting, as well as somewhat painful for myself. Consider it a personal favour that you leave the room so I can cling to my remaining illusion of dignity around you. I’ll owe you.”

Her interest piked. “A personal favour?”

Skulduggery already regretted his wording. “Yes.”

“So, just to clarify, if I leave the room, I will have a personal favour from you that you owe me for leaving you to be, let’s face it, embarrassingly ugly in private.”

“Yes.”

“And it can be whatever I want?”

Skulduggery sighed. “Valkyrie are you going to leave or not?”

Valkyrie grinned. “Just getting the terms of the agreement out in the open. China, you heard all that right? As a witness?”

“Oh yes.” China said, smiling. “I can attest that Skulduggery owes you a great personal favour at his own personal disadvantage. I daresay you have the makings of a wonderful black mailer Valkyrie.”

Valkyrie beamed. “From you China, that means the world. Ok. I’ll leave you two alone.” She turned to leave before looking back, frowning. “What exactly am I meant to do?”

“Well,” Skulduggery said, “There is an entire magical library at your disposal across the hall with some of the most fantastic secrets and truths in the world.”

Valkyrie shrugged. “That’s cool, but I don’t really feel like reading.”

“There’s a Burger King a block over.”

Valkyrie grinned. “Cool. Text me when you’re not ugly.”

She waved them goodbye and left, leaving China and Skulduggery alone in her apartment, yet again.

“I’m going to ignore the insult of her choosing fast food over my collection, but I won’t forget it happened.” China said smoothly.

“Don’t be too hard on her, she’s never been good at the research part of the job. My theory is she’s too threatened by my intelligence to attempt.”

China huffed out a laugh and Skulduggery joined in. In privacy, he allowed himself to take in her full appearance today. The white slip was one of her shorter dresses, leaving her lean and soft legs on display. She had paired it with a strappy black heel. Her makeup was minimal, apart from a flick of eyeliner, leaving her face looking dewy and youthful.

She looked tender. The utterly wrong word for China. But she did. In this warm light, out of the gloomy basement, she looked almost sweet.

He relaxed into the chair, drinking her in.

“Are you done staring?”

Skulduggery met her eyes and she was smirking.

“I wasn’t staring.” Skulduggery huffed, defensively.

China laughed lightly. “You’re a bad liar.”

Skulduggery felt a wave of embarrassment as he adjusted himself in the chair, sitting forward with his hands on his knees. “Now that is just factually incorrect. By all accounts, I’m a fantastic liar.”

China tutted, and removed a small black case from her desk. She removed a thinner and more delicate scalpel then last time, and passed her finger tips over it, making it glow bright orange before turning an electric blue. “Any ideas as to why the Tesseract is after Davina Marr?”

He sighed. “None that are solid. While we now know at least that Marr wasn’t acting alone, we haven’t been able to put together a theory without either a massive hole or speculation. In all honesty, I was hoping you’d have some theories yourself.”

She hummed, as she removed an eyepiece from her desk. “Is there any possibility that Marr is still working for the American Sanctuary? I fail to see what they’d benefit from the destruction of a Sanctuary though.”

He shook his head as she tutted, placed the eye piece back in the drawer and rummaged for a different one. “If she was working with the American Sanctuary, why have they not made a move? They blow up a sanctuary and then do…nothing. Then Corrival Deuce gets elected as Grand Mage, with Ravel and myself as possible Elders. I really can’t see how that would benefit the Americans, or anyone else for that matter, in the slightest.”

China murmured in agreement. Seeming satisfied with her eye piece, she crossed the room to Skulduggery. “It does seem like a stretch. However, perhaps she still worked undercover for someone else?”

Skulduggery sighed. “Unfortunately, the Irish Sanctuary has a long list of people who don’t like it.”

China smiled. “Helped greatly by you and Valkyrie.”

“Of course.” He said, a smile in his voice.

She knelt towards him, affixing the eyepiece. Yet again, he was close enough to smell lilacs and sandalwood coming from her, making him feel dizzy. Before she could ask, he undid all the buttons of his shirt and let it hung loosely at his shoulders, hoping to come across as confident.

She smiled. “You know, we already know how far the façade goes now. This time you could have gotten away with just undoing the first few.” She said, adjusting her eye piece.

Dammit.

“You could have told me that before I did it.” Skulduggery grumbled.

“Nonsense, this is far funnier. Now, activate your tattoos so we can see what we’re working with here.”

Reluctantly, Skulduggery tapped his collarbones, and immediately felt his mouth slide down to his neck.

“My, my, it is a rare treat when you can’t talk back.” China placed a flat cushion on the ground and knelt in front of Skulduggery’s legs, leaning in closely to inspect the tattoo with her eye piece. If the façade was working, he’d have flushed.

She tutted, furrowing her brow as she inspected him. His ear slowly moved to the back of his neck. “Since you can’t talk back, I’m saying this once and denying I did. I apologise for threatening the man in front of Valkyrie. If it was just you, I wouldn’t have minded, but I know you prefer I behave…better around her.”

Skulduggery mumbled into the folds of his skin in response and she smiled.

“Yes, you’re right. It _is_ good to remind her once in a while that I’m dangerous. Thank you for speaking from your heart on that, I feel absolved of all guilt.”

Skulduggery huffed and she nodded.

“I wouldn’t have brought it up, but since you did, I also think keeping me from council meetings but having a teenage girl there is an insult. However, I like Valkyrie enough to forgive it.”

Skulduggery groaned, muttering darkly into the folds of his oozing neck.

“Indeed, my dear.” Slowly, she pressed the scalpel into his left tattoo, piercing the skin and sinking deep until she hit bone. It sizzled through his faux flesh, and a small amount of smoke rose as she pressed the sharpest point slightly deeper into his collarbone.

Skulduggery felt his face tighten sharply, stretching gaunt over his bones. His mouth thankfully, moved back to where it was meant to be. “I don’t appreciate you mocking me when I can’t talk back. Seems like a low blow.”

“Really? I think I’m being positively charming.” China said, as she flicked her wrist delicately, carving a mark upwards into the bone. Skulduggery hissed slightly as he felt the new mark burn.

“What are you doing?”

“Improving on my work. Hold still.” China turned her wrist, moving the scalpel into Skulduggery’s bone like a calligraphy pen. She deepened the mark at the very end, before pulling the blade out of his left collarbone.

Skulduggery glanced at his chest. Blood dripped languidly down his now reformed chest.

“Huh.”

“Anything wrong?” China asked, turning her attention to his right collarbone.

“I just haven’t bled in a few hundred years. It’s…a little unnerving.”

Without warning, her free hand pressed against the bleeding collarbone. Warmth spread and he could feel the skin stitching itself back together. She had healed him.

“You shouldn’t do that. It drains your magic.” He said softly, his hand rising to press over hers. There was something oddly intimate at seeing his blood staining the tips of her perfect fingers.

“I’ll be fine. It was a minor cut.”

She went quiet as she pressed the scalpel back into the right collarbone, sizzling through yet again until she hit bone. His face relaxed back into comfort. Happily, he noted that his ear almost back into its normal position.

He realised with a flush of warmth that she had not pulled her hand from his.

“If it’s any comfort, it’s not real blood.”

Skulduggery huffed a slight laugh. “How is that meant to be a comfort?”

“I’m not sure, I’m not known for my comforting.” She murmured.

“The blood in itself is fine. I think I’m just unused to…feeling alive physically.”

She seemed to ponder this declaration for a moment, then nodded politely, as though she was still mulling it over. She pulled the scalpel sharply upwards, slicing through his skin easily. At the very end, she rounded it back down, creating a delicate upside-down tear drop into his bone and skin. He cursed when she deepened the blade, smoke rising from his skin as she drew a line gently across the whole tattoo.

“Hush. This is nothing for you.”

He grumbled and she laughed. In a burst of confidence, he squeezed her hand slightly in response. He nearly faltered when she squeezed back. She smiled as she pulled the blade out, and rose to her feet.

After a beat, she released her hand from Skulduggery’s as well.

“There. I righted the mistake. Both marks were off by a millimetre-unforgivable really, but I’ve chosen to forgive myself. I also altered the signs so they are more stable; meaning they should offer more realistic skin and better coverage.”

“How can we tell if your alterations worked?”

China smiled. “Try them out.”

“I can’t believe you’re giving me the façade equivalent of turning it off and on again.” Skulduggery said, humour lilting his voice.

China sighed. “Skulduggery, just do what I say.”

He smiled, which was quickly removed as he tapped his tattoos, revealing his skull yet again. China waved a hand and the mirror was back, this time directly facing Skulduggery as he sat in the chair. He wouldn’t admit it, but he felt vulnerable with China standing above him. He also wouldn’t admit that he liked it.

Skulduggery turned his gaze from her to the mirror. He stared into his sockets as his fingers pressed against his aching collarbones. Skin flowed over his face, and curly brown hair sprouted from his head. His eyebrows were mostly straight, and thick. His mouth was on the thinner side this time, and he had a small shadow of stubble. His sockets turned to eyes staring back at him; dark brown, borderline black. Thankfully, all of China’s seemed to be working, as nothing slipped or slid down his face.

He stared at the man in the mirror; lean muscle covered by soft looking skin. China had yet again improved, the waxy quality gone from his skin.

He blinked. His right collarbone trickled blood. The bead dripped steadily down his chest, curving over his pectoral and onto his stomach. Still unused to seeing himself bleed, he raised a hand to catch the fat drop before it dribbled into the folds of his shirt; removing his glove at the last second to avoid the risk of staining it.

The blood fell, dripping into the shirt, as he stared at his hand, stunned. He had a hand. Not bones. A full hand.

He flexed it, testing it out. A click of his fingers, and flames danced around his palm. He looked up at China, who remained unreadable as she stared at him.

“I…I have hands?”

“Like I said, I improved.” She hesitated, seeming suddenly uncertain. “Is it okay?”

“I…yes, it is an exceptional hand.” He said, dumbfounded.

“I meant, is it okay being more…solid?”

He tilted his head, confusion etching itself into his face. “China, are you asking me how I feel?”

She huffed and turned away from him, making something twist sharply in his chest. “No. Don’t worry.”

Before he could second guess himself, he rose from the seat. His bloodied shirt fell away from his shoulders as he approached her. Still she faced away from him. Gently, he took her hand in his. She looked at him then, her dazzling eyes flinting with something Skulduggery couldn’t quite place.

“It’s shocking, but it’s brilliant. It’ll take some getting used to, but you did a remarkable job. I’m just not used to looking quite so…filled out.”

She blinked, processing, then offered the barest glimmer of a smile. “Thank you, Skulduggery.”

They held each other’s hands, and suddenly Skulduggery noticed how soft and smooth China’s hands were. He flushed as the desire to kiss them rose in him. He wanted to press his mouth to each knuckle; tenderly kiss at her wrist, feel her pulse against his lips.

The air felt thick; heavy. Skulduggery couldn’t help himself and took a step closer, entering China’s space.

Crap. He hadn’t thought this far ahead, and became overwhelmed yet again as he smelt her perfumes on her skin. She looked up at him, and Skulduggery nearly buckled at the tender look in her eyes. The tension was taunt in the room, as they stood close to each other, something intimate and unspoken being shared between them both.

Skulduggery did what he did best in unspoken moments; he talked.

“I’m trying to not draw attention to it, but I’m still shirtless with this quite attractive face. This is scandalous.”

China smiled, rolling her eyes. “I assure you; I’ve seen enough shirtless men to last me a life time.” China said, removing her hand from his.

“But I’m exceptional.”

China laughed and Skulduggery grinned in response. What a freedom, to smile at the most beautiful woman in the world after making her laugh.

“Miss Sorrows, are you blushing?”

China raised an eyebrow. “We both know I’m not. I don’t blush Skulduggery.”

“Are you sure you’re not?”

“Quite positive.”

“Damn. You didn’t deny I’m exceptional though.” He teased, spreading his arms out either side to show himself off. She sighed as he did a slow turn for her, blush spreading down his chest when he saw she smiling at him.

“I suppose I didn’t. I do also think you’re an idiot though.”

He pointed at her. “But an _exceptional_ idiot.”

She laughed again, soft and bubbly, before closing in on him; a panther on prey. He faltered, his eyes widening as she pressed her hands against his collarbones, holding him still.

“Perhaps.” She purred, and Skulduggery felt a hot spike shoot up his chest.

She held him there, and then her eyes widened and she released him just as suddenly. She muttered, inspecting the blood that had smeared on her right hand, a bead dripping down. She had irritated the semi scabs forming over the marks and when he glanced down, blood lazily dripped from Skulduggery yet again.

He looked back up at her. It was a little unsettling, but seeing his blood on her hand gave him a wave of desire. He didn’t know how to explain it. But the red staining those perfect hands, the way the light from the window shimmered on both her dress and his blood. How alive he felt, seeing that he could bleed; seeing that _she_ saw that too.

Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards him. She cursed as he tugged her forward, but allowed herself to be moved. She looked up, looking like she wanted to scold him, but seemed to choke on her words once she looked into his eyes.

He knew the feeling.

“What’s gotten into you Skulduggery?” She said, softly.

“I’m not sure.” He murmured back, holding her out in front of him. His eyes flicked from the blood dripping down her hand to her face to her hand again. China raised an eyebrow as he stared at the blood as it curled and trickled down her wrist.

He couldn’t stop himself. He pulled her hand to his mouth, pressing her finger tips against his bottom lip. He held her there, not daring to _make_ her do anything. He looked into her eyes as they widened slightly, for just a second, as it clicked into place. His grip on her wrist loosened when she looked at him with understanding.

“You are a dark, dark man at heart.”

Skulduggery nodded. “Perhaps.”

Gently, she pushed her fingertips slightly into his mouth, before dragging them down from his lips to his chin.

He licked his lips tentatively, and tasted copper. Heat flushed in his face as he watched China stare at his mouth.

She raised her arm, the blood drop hurrying its pace down her wrist at the change of angle, and held it near his mouth. He searched her eyes, trying to find some type of answer for what was happening. He only found something dark and curious in them.

He grasped her wrist, closed the distance, and ran his tongue up her arm, catching the blood drop before it fell.

Something primal, dangerous, sparked between them.

Skulduggery wanted to devour her.

China raised her free hand, touching a tattoo on the arm Skulduggery held. Her fingertips flashed red. She raised the hand to Skulduggery’s chest, and placed a nail on his pectoral.

She dragged her nail slowly across, and he hissed as hot pain spread. Glancing down he saw that she had cut his chest; blood blossomed up to the top of the skin in fat droplets.

She clicked her fingers, removing the enchantment from them, and placed her palm on his chest, across the cut. He released her left arm and settled his hands comfortably on her hips. His eyes widened somewhat hungrily when he realised, he couldn’t feel the seam of underwear under her dress.

They held each other’s gaze; the air electric between them. There was something unspoken being told to each other here, but Skulduggery couldn’t tell what.

He held her eyes as she smeared her hand around, spreading the blood across his chest. He could feel the heat from her hands on his chest, could feel the warmth of his blood on his skin. He closed his eyes, memorising the sticky sensation of blood on his chest as it dried in the cool air, the twinge of pain as China’s hand went over his cut.

He felt alive. China made him feel physically alive.

She stilled her hand, before resting both of them on his chest. They stared at each other once more.

“What is this?” he asked her, his voice, impossibly, deeper than usual.

China smiled. “We’re just two exceptional people Skulduggery. For once, can we not talk?”

He pressed his mouth to hers in answer.

Copper. Blood. Heat. _China_.

He tasted his own blood in her mouth and groaned. She kissed back deeply, keeping her hands on his chest as she pushed him back, till the back of his knees hit her desk.

Without removing her mouth from his, she pulled her hands off him and removed her dress, letting it fall around her ankles before kicking it behind her. He pulled his mouth away from her and stared. Really stared.

He took in the tattoos that climbed intricately up her entire body. The single beauty spot on her taunt and muscular stomach. The curve of her hips. The jut of her collarbones. The way her nipples stiffened slightly in the cooler air under her white lace bralette.

She stood in front of him. She didn’t pose. She didn’t saunter. Just let him drink her in, memorise this moment and let it scald into his head. He knew he was red all over. He knew he was staring for too long. But he couldn’t stop himself.

He stared into her eyes for one long moment, wanting to say something.

She held a finger to her lips, shushing him. Slowly, she stepped forward, closing in on him, making him lean his arms back against her desk and wince as the cut on his chest stretched with the movement.

She nudged his knees open with her thigh, and stood between his legs.

He propped himself up slightly on his elbows, feeling dizzy with desire. Tenderly, he undid the clasp of her bra and let it fall between them. His mind short-circuited when she used his thighs to boost herself up slightly to kiss him again. Gently, tenderly.

Then she bit sharply into his lower lip. A soft, strangled, noise escaped his throat as she tugged it lightly. Biting deeper, she let go off his lip when a tiny droplet of blood swelled. He pressed his tongue against the sore, and felt for the first time in so long, the way skin swelled when flooded with blood.

Pleasure tinged with pain swirled in his head, and he growled. His hands found purchase on her waist, and pulled her forward onto him, until they now both lay on her desk. His legs dangled over the edge as she shuffled up him, straddling his stomach. She looked down on him with glinting eyes as she undid her hair, letting it cascade down her shoulders.

From this angle, looking up her, Skulduggery lost all sense of self.

The light from the window hit her back and made her skin glow.

Powerful. Breathtaking. Untouchable.

He propped himself up on his elbows, and pressed a kiss to her sternum. He felt her heart beat against his mouth. He smiled into the skin when he smelt clove on her breasts, quietly pleased he had figured out where it came from.

Sitting up further, one arm wrapping around her hips to keep her in place, he pressed open mouth kisses to her breasts. He felt dizzy when he heard a soft moan come from her mouth.

He met her eyes while kissing her chest.

He held her eyes as his lips moved to her nipple and he sucked it into his mouth. Her brows knitted slightly and her mouth opened in a soft ‘o’, but she held his eyes, refused to shy away.

He pulled his mouth almost all the way off her, before latching his teeth onto her nipple, tugging it sharply. Her breath deepened as he licked it almost apologetically, before biting down on it sharply yet again.

Her hands moved up, pushed into his curls, and buried themselves in there. When he sucked sharply, trying to bruise her, she tugged his head back by the hair, causing him to hiss at the sudden pain.

When she spoke, after so much quiet, it cut through the room. Her voice was low with arousal, but danger underpinned her words.

“ _No one_ marks me but me. Do you understand me Skulduggery?”

Her pupils had taken over almost all of the blue in her eyes. She tightened her grip in his hair, punctuated it with a sharper tug. He winced.

“I don’t ask twice. My patience is short. Do you understand me Skulduggery?”

“Yes.” He moaned.

She leaned closer. “Yes what?” She whispered.

His whole face felt hot. He could feel her breath on his cheek and neck. “Yes, I understand China.”

“Good boy.” She purred, releasing his hair and pressing herself forward, knocking them both flat against the table with a grunt from Skulduggery as he fell back with her weight. Her naked body was flush against his, making him blush deeply. They clung to each other, rolled over and accidentally knocked a vase of herbs off China’s desk. China blinked at him, and laughed, genuinely laughed, in his arms. He kissed her once, gently, smiling as he swallowed her laughter. And then again. And again. And again.

The laughter evolved into soft moans, sighs, and whimpers between them.

They devoured each other, hands desperately clawing and grabbing for more purchase of the others body. As China licked and bit at his throat, he groaned and rolled, twisting China underneath him- his chest against hers was sticky with blood and sweat.

Her raven hair spread over the table, and she looked up at him through heavy lashes. On her perfect skin, Skulduggery could see the faintest wash of a blush spread over her neck.

“Miss Sorrows,” he teased, voice low and deep, hunger dripping off it, “Are you blushing?”

She blinked. Smirked up at him.

“No.” She purred back.

“I think,” he whispered, closing the distance between them, sharing air, feeling her breath hot against his mouth, “You’re lying.”

* * *

He watched her as she boiled a kettle, brewing tea. Her hair was still damp from her shower, and was styled into a loose bun, pinned back with ornamental pearl and silver pins.

His façade down, he lounged in her chair with his shirt half done up. China had offered him a different shirt as his was stained with blood drops, but Ghastly’s clothes always fit on his skeleton better than anything else. He had a coat; he could cover the blood.

“Do you think we should talk about this at all?” He said, tilting his head back.

She didn’t turn to face him, but he could hear the smile in her voice. “Skulduggery, why ruin this by talking about it?”

He surprised himself as he chuckled. He plucked his gloves off the floor and pulled them back on. Content.

“You know, Valkyrie’s probably called you a dozen times by now.”

“Ah.” Less content.

He rushed to his coat and checked his phone. Sure enough, three missed calls from Valkyrie.

He turned to her. She looked elegant in her dressing gown, its blue silk almost matching her eyes. “Sorry to dash. I had hoped we could talk…about the case more.”

She waved him off, smiling as she raised the steaming tea cup to her lips. “Go. She’ll cause far more hell than I will if she doesn’t see you.”

He nodded, already half out the door.

“Skulduggery.”

He turned back, cocked his head at her.

“Perhaps you should put your clothes back on before finding her?”

He glanced down at his half-buttoned shirt and sighed. She laughed.

* * *

“Two hours.”

Skulduggery kept his eyes on the road as he drove Valkyrie home.

“You left me in a Burger King for two hours.”

“For which,” He said, “I have already apologised. You could be the big person here and accept the apology.”

“And stop berating you? What type of compromise is that?”

“You weren’t even in the Burger King for two hours. You left after half an hour and teleported with Fletcher to Italy.”

“But that’s not the point! The point is that you were _willing_ to just leave me in a Burger King for two hours! That’s so rude!”

“As always, your logic can’t be faulted.”

She turned to him and glared. “Shut up. Did China at least fix your face?”

Skulduggery tilted his head. “She did. She improved the marks as well. Do you want to…”

“Nope.” She said grumpily, before softly adding, “You with a face still unnerves me.”

He chuckled and she begrudgingly joined in.

She sighed. “So, we still don’t have much to work with huh.”

Skulduggery nodded. “China and I discussed some of our theories of a grander conspiracy and she made some good points. Who would want to go after a Sanctuary so unstable? The American sanctuary could still be going after us but…”

“It doesn’t make any logical sense.” Valkyrie finished and Skulduggery nodded. “It could be another magical group, like the Roarhaven mages? They’ve never been fond of the Irish Sanctuary.”

Skulduggery tilted his head, weighing up the new option.

“So,” Skulduggery said, “to sum up: Davina Marr’s co-conspirators could either be the Roarhaven mages, the Americans, or anyone else who just doesn’t like us.”

Valkyrie patted his arm. “I’m just glad we could narrow it down.”

The car fell into silence as they mulled over their options. Skulduggery found it increasingly difficult to flesh out theories when the memories of China’s body were still so fresh.

“I’ve got it.” Valkyrie said.

Skulduggery cocked his head. “You’ve worked out our issues with Davina Marr?”

“What? No, god no. I worked out what your favour to me is.”

Skulduggery sighed. “I’m assuming I can’t argue?”

“Nope.” She said brightly.

“Fine. What’s your request?”

“Let me drive the Bentley.”

His gloved hands tightened on the wheel. “Absolutely not.”

“You can’t say no. I have China as a witness. And if I can annoy you into doing things, imagine what _she_ could do to make you do things.”

He pressed a hand to his temple. _You have no idea._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to quickly thank everyone who has left Kudos and comments so far. I honestly dipped back into writing fanfiction out of curiosity, and didn't really expect much of a reaction to my chapter so shortly after it had been written. I don't plan any more chapters for this piece, and hope you all have enjoyed the direction I have taken Skulduggery and China in this piece. It has been so much fun to write and edit this, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been re reading the Skulduggery Pleasant series, and was so struck by how much I enjoyed China and Skulduggery's relationship with each other. Frustrated at the over abundance of Valduggery, I decided to write my own wants instead of waiting for them to be written. 
> 
> This is my first dip into fanfiction in a long time, so I hope I haven't disappointed anyone! I have one more chapter planned, but please if you have the time, let me know if you liked it! I had so much fun writing this. 
> 
> Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes- I wrote this in two days and couldn't be bothered to edit. Kudos and bookmarks are always appreciated <3


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